Jeremiah - Introduction

INTRODUCTION

Jeremiah began his prophetic ministry about fifty years after Isaiah ended his. Jeremiah began prophesying in 626 B.C., during the reign of Josiah king of Judah; he continued prophesying until some time after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Like Isaiah before him, Jeremiah ministered primarily to the people of Jerusalem and Judah.

Jeremiah was a priest as well as a PROPHET. His message was not popular: he was sent to warn the people that Judah would be destroyed if they did not repent of their sins. Judah had escaped the threat from Assyria, but now it stood alone, a tiny outpost of God’s people. Would it survive? It all depended on whether the people heeded God’s word spoken through the prophet Jeremiah.

During the long reign of Manasseh (2 Kings 21:1–18), Judah had descended more and more into idolatry and evil. Manasseh’s grandson Josiah, however, attempted to reform the nation (2 Kings 23:1–25), and it was during his reign that Jeremiah sought to lead the people to REPENTANCE and thereby ward off national disaster. However, the reforms of Josiah proved to be short–lived; after Josiah’s death, Jeremiah lost favor in the court and began to suffer persecution and imprisonment. His message changed as well: no longer did he preach repentance; it was too late for that. Instead he prophesied that destruction at the hands of the Babylonians was now inevitable; the disobedient people had sealed their fate.

Toward the latter part of Jeremiah’s ministry, he added something new to his message: Judah would ultimately be restored. The punishment (exile in Babylon) was the result of disobeying God’s covenant commands (Leviticus 26:31–33); however, if the exiles accepted their punishment, they would be restored to their land (Leviticus 26:40–45).

Thus Jeremiah was not only a prophet of doom but also a prophet of hope. In particular, Jeremiah taught that God would establish a new COVENANT with His people and write His LAW on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:31–34).

The book of Jeremiah is not written in chronological order; it is organized according to topic. It was probably compiled by Jeremiah’s faithful secretary Baruch, who wrote down what Jeremiah dictated (Jeremiah 36:4). In the book, Jeremiah reveals much of his personal struggles and suffering; he yearned for his people, but they persistently rejected him and his message. Yet he remained faithful to his calling through forty years of turbulent ministry. He is thought to have died in EGYPT sometime after the fall of Jerusalem.

For further information about PROPHECY and about the role of the Old Testament prophets, see Isaiah: Introduction.